In honor of the extended Thanksgiving Day weekend, I started up the latest project, DML's Imperial Series # 9031 StuG III Ausf A. This is the kit with the Michael Wittmann figure included although I will be building this one sans Herr Wittmann. I'm also using the Eduard PE set, Aber grilles, Jordi Rubio aluminum barrel, and Model Kasten SK-26 tracks.



Work began where it usually does with Step 1 dealing with the road wheels, sprockets, idlers, and return rollers. This is always a tedious step and one that I prefer to get out of the way early on. Since this is an older kit, there's more to watch out for such as the ejector marks on the outer face of the idlers that required putty and sanding to fill. The sprocket halves also needed some work, the mating tab on the outer half is supposed to match up with a notch on the inner half...but the notch isn't there, so the tab was removed and the halves carefully glued together so that the teeth aligned properly. I triple checked the spacing with the MK and kit links both to be sure I had the right gap since this is a critical element. The road wheels were left separate for now to facilitate painting the hubs later on and each one had a seam on the rubber portion sanded down with a sanding twig. The return rollers were assembled and the outer halves had an ejector mark in the middle of their hubs, this was carefully removed using a round needle file to avoid damaging the bolt detail in the process.



With that out of the way, I proceeded to modify the lower hull to get it to the correct configuration for an Ausf A. This meant removing the front molded on return roller post as directed in the instructions and replacing it with one in the correct level position with the other two. The molded on outline for the crew escape hatch was also removed and sanded down and an unneeded mount hole for the fender supports filled in with putty. This was done on both sides of the lower hull. I also cut down the mount post for the sprocket to just 1 mm in height in preparation for mounting the MK-supplied final drive housing and sprocket mount, more on that in just a bit.



The rest of Step 2 was completed by adding the suspension arms, shock absorbers, bump stops, and the idler mount. The idler mounts were carefully assembled so as to allow the idler to be movable just a little. To do this, the piston arm was only glued to the idler mount and not to the semi-circular armored housing...allowing the piston to slide a few MMs both ways, this will come in handy when mounting the MK tracks.



Step 3 calls for all the road wheels, sprockets, idlers, and return rollers to be mounted but I skipped this to allow for easier painting later on. The exception is the sprockets, the MK set includes a replacement set of final drive housings and parts to allow for the sprocket to remain able to rotate, but this means it all has to be mounted together at the same time. The MK axle posts were glued into the sprockets directly and the housings assembled with just the retaining nut left separate.



The posts slide inside the housing, then the nut is glued to the posts to retain them but still allow the sprocket to rotate freely. The entire assembly is them attached to the hull just like the kit supplied parts would've been. The armored covers for the shock absorbers were also added in this step.



Step 4 calls for the track installation which I skipped for now. It also installs the rear hull plate along with the exhausts, the rear air exhaust, and the towing pintles. Some slight putty work was needed on the lower hull plate due to a small gap from trimming off the sprue attachment point too deeply, but otherwise everything assembled just fine.



At this point I departed from the instructions from previous experience with these older Pz III kits. I've learned that it's much easier to attache the upper and lower hulls now before there are details to get in the way, so I cleaned up the upper hull and joined it to the lower hull, using liquid glue and several rubber bands to do the deed. This was allowed to set up overnight to get a good solid join before moving on. A small rectangular cut-out that isn't used on this Ausf was also filled with putty and sanded down to round things out here.



Going back to Step 5, I assembled and installed the gun mount. This is a tricky assembly because it's meant to leave the elevation and traverse of the gun pose-able, but the fit is loose at both the elevation pins and the base that attaches to the hull. For now I left it loose, but when it comes time to install the gun proper, both elements will be glued into a fixed position to avoid complications. The support platform for Herr Wittmann I left off entirely (poor guy doesn't have all of his legs and there's no interior, so he has to be supported somehow if he's added!)



Step 6 deals with the superstructure and calls for an important modification to be made for it to be accurate for an Ausf A. The superstructure is borrowed from the Ausf B kit and it has the incorrect hatch arrangement for the gunner's sight as a result molded in. This means that hatch panel has to be removed in its entirety and replaced with the kit supplied separate part. I used a razor saw blade to make general cuts to remove most of the hatch to start with.



Sprue cutters removed the bigger chunks and the rest had to be shaved down with a #11 blade with a lot of dry fitting and sanding to go with it before the opening was the right size to take the replacement part.



Step 7 calls for the installation of the various hatches and the addition of the front superstructure plate. The larger hatches have molded on and in detail that doesn't belong to the A, so the raised detail was removed with a 11 blade and the molded in detail puttied and sanded smooth. The front hull plate required some small putty work at the lower edges to fill small gaps there and with the superstructure where it fit to the lower hull.



Skipping around again, I worked on the details on the engine deck, using the Eduard items to replace inaccurate molded on detail. The clamps for the tow cable were just solid blocks, so these were clipped off and sanded down in favor of the open clamps from the Eduard set and the engine hatch handles also added. The small hasps for the hatch locks were also added to the top commander and loader hatches. The smoke grenade holder was assembled and added and I scrounged the actual grenades from spare parts left over from a DML DAK Pz I-B since the kit didn't supply any grenades. After painting, I will add some fine chain to complete their look.



Next up will be building and installing the gun as well as dealing with the front hull details and then on to the main attraction, the fenders!

I was just about to start on this one, this will be my first serius build of a german AFV, will build it as a 640th StuG Batterie, attached to GD. Planing for at dio, with some LAH Verfügungs truppen, in Bergues area may 1940.
So to watch your build is very helpful for me.

cheers
Jes

Nice start Bill. Looking good. I wish those modelkasten had an affordable price here. $30 - $35 is a bit much! I have the C/D Stug, which I hope to tackle next year, complete with Jaguar interior. This is really wetting my appetitie for it!

nice work so far Bill. you have not hung around with this one it seems.

Unusual project for you Bill ... just a plain Stug? Usually it's some elaborate paper panzer. Looks like another fun one to watch. You don't see too many short barreled Stugs being built, just the long barreled ones.

I have an Ausf C with the 7.5cm StuK 40 L/48 (9035) to build soon. Pretty unusual combination as well.

Thanks for sharing!

Jes,

Sounds like a neat dio project, hope you have fun with it and post some pics as you go along?




Frank, Thanks for following along as always! One of the best places I've found for Model Kasten tracks is RZM Imports...they are here in the states but do ship internationally, might be worth it depending on the rates you pay locally. http://www.rzm.com




Darren, can't stay idle for long once a build finishes, it's on to the next and the holiday weekend provided the perfect excuse!




Jeff, it's true that the short-barrel StuGs don't get as much love and attention as they deserve IMHO...maybe it's the limitations of the panzer gray scheme? I think they've got a more sleek/menacing look to them vs. the later long-barrel StuGs, something about that fast-back look to the superstructure I guess! I've also got that same kit, #9035, in the stash as well...picked it up on sale and it too is quietly waiting for its turn some day.

Hey Bill,
I'm doing one of these -it's been on hold for a while though.
Here is a link to my attempt.
http://www.planetarmor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4803

James,

You've put quite a bit of work into yours, shame to not see it finished yet, but I'm sure it will get there in due time. I'm not looking to go quite that far with this one, although your list of references is about the same as mine.

The final day of the holiday weekend produced some progress, although not as much as I'd hoped for...but isn't that always the case of "eyes too big for the stomach" when it comes to holidays?

The next step was to mount the replacement gun barrel. To do this I had to remove the molded on portions of the housing on the two part assembly, this was done with sprue cutters and then the opening carefully enlarged enough to take the base of the barrel. It took some careful back and forth since I didn't want to glue the two halves together until I had the fit right, but once set, the halves were glued with liquid glue and allowed to set up. The seam was then carefully sanded down and then the aluminum barrel added with CA gel. The Eduard set supplied the small U bracket for the strap that normally holds the muzzle cap...but since I'm not installing the cap, I left the strap off as pics showing the cap stowed don't show the belt dangling, so I'm assuming they would stow the strap along with the cap inside the vehicle when it wasn't used. The gun was then attached to the mantlet plate with liquid glue and allowed to dry.



To install the gun, I first used a small brush and applied some liquid glue to the movable base to fix it into the desired position. Glue was applied both at the locking nut as well as the elevation pins to keep everything nice and steady. The mantlet was then glued on and supported with a paint brush handle for an hour or so until the glue had firmly set. The driver's visor was also added at this point along with the front towing pintles. The two-part pintles had ejector marks on their outer faces, so these were filled with putty and carefully sanded with a small strip of sandpaper super-glued to a toothpick for reaching the tight areas. Putty was applied around the pintle edges as well to simulate their weld seams. I held off mounting the front head lights for now to avoid damage and provide some extra work room for putting in the fenders.



I added the remaining details for the left hand side of the superstructure in the form of the driver's view port, the radio armored housing, and the air intakes on either side. The surfaces of the intakes were carefully sanded to make them level and then the Aber grilles installed using Gator Grip glue to allow for some work time and careful positioning. I used small amounts of liquid glue to secure the small attachment bolts to the engine deck. I also added some putty work to the top of the radio box and around the base of the mantlet where the housing attaches to simulate weld seams. I let the putty dry thoroughly then carefully created a weld seam pattern with the back edge of a #11 blade. Some additional putty was used under the driver's side port to fill a small gap that would otherwise be visible.



The next little detail involves the missing radio antenna. The kit supplies the base and swivel arm for it to mount to the box but the antenna itself is AWOL. I used a brass antenna from Armorscale since it doesn't have a base and is just the rod, carefully drilling out the kit part with a pin vise and then gluing the rod in with CA gel. I set this off to the side for a bit until the fender was installed to avoid damaging it in the process.



The next step involved some careful surgery...I removed both the front and rear mud flaps with sprue cutters then carefully trimmed back the kit styrene fender to take the Eduard replacements. The rear flap is a must to replace since the kit provided fender has the rectangular cut-out for a Notek light that isn't fitted to the A and the kit provides a styrene replacement...so if you're going to do the cutting, might as well get the benefit of the PE part IMHO. The rear flap had a left-over DML piece added to represent the cover for the rear light cut-out when the flap is in the down position. The open holes in the fender for the tools were all filed with putty, both on the underside and top side, since the Eduard clamps will be used instead. The antenna was installed into the mount and the Eduard PE support holder also installed just behind the intake.



Now that the fender was in place, I added the wiring from the width indicator lights and the Notek light in the form of some solder cut and bent to shape and carefully glued into position with liquid glue. The kit instructions tell you to remove the base of the Notek light but after checking several photos of A's in both France and on the Eastern Front, the Notek light was fitted more often than not, likely as a retro-fit. I've got photos in both Spielberger's Pz III and Variants and in Trojca's Stug III/IV At War showing A's with it fitted (these same photos show other unique A features so I'm sure it's not a case of bad captions), so it saves on some sanding as well as the inevitable bare spot in the tread-plate pattern that would result. The wire doesn't lead all the way to the tow pintle on purpose to allow sufficient clearance for the hooded headlamp to be mounted later on.



Next up will be the right side!

Hey Bill,

Nice work - always look forward to your builds

Rudi

Just when I was thinking, "jeez, haven't seen Bill around" out he pops.

Looking sharp.

Matt

Hi Bill,

I am following this build with interest as I have one on the go and another one still in the box. I have already picked up a couple of tips to help me with the detailing.

Anyway, I noticed that you have opted to use the Modelkasten tracks. Is it just because you prefer them or are the tracks included with the kit incorrect? I have the sick feeling that the kit tracks are probably 38 rather than 36cm versions.

Cheers,
TimTam27

Thanks Rudi and Matt, glad to see you along for the ride!




TimTam,

I checked the MK tracks vs. the kit-supplied tracks and they are identical in size and dimension, so you can rest assured that the kit tracks are indeed 36cm links. I opted for the MKs for two reasons...the first being that the older DML links have two ejector pin marks on the face of each link astride the guide horns and so would involve some major clean-up effort if used. The second is the added advantage of workable tracks, so it does come down to preference vs. any accuracy issues...the MKs will likely take roughly the same amount of time to assemble as it would to clean up each of the individual static links so might as well get more "bang for the buck".

Thanks for the good news Bill.

I am very happy to hear that the kit tracks are useable. As I like to get the boring stuff out of the way early, I had already cleaned up the tracks on the kit I have started. Glad to hear that I hadn't wasted my time there.

Cheers,
TimTam27

Nice start to a another great project Bill. Thanks for all your inspirational works. I am finally online at home now after a five year absence, so I will checking in much more often. Take care.

Jim

Thanks for the comments Jim and glad to hear you've got connections from home now...although you may end up regretting that given the addictive nature of the 'net!

Never gonna happen.

I will be following this one. All your build look really nice.

Lars

Thanks Lars, appreciate the interest and comments.

The latest batch of work dealt with adding the PE details to the fenders and, because it involves a lot of small pieces, was kind of slow going as a result. A lot of time was spent checking the fit and alignment, removing sections of the raised detail on the fenders, etc. I started on the left side fender first and worked front to back. The large storage box on the fender was completely replaced with the Eduard items and the rest of the tools for this side all had their molded-on clamps removed and the Eduard clamps installed in their place. The fire extinguisher got the biggest makeover, basically keeping only the cylinder and replacing everything else with the Eduard parts. While the kit instructions don't call for it, the rack for the cleaning rods installs on this fender. The kit has parts to achieve this but I opted instead for the Eduard parts and a left-over set of cleaning rods from a more modern DML kit. In order to get it placed properly, I had to install the shovel in place to insure there was enough room, but all the other tools are able to be fit into the clamps later on after painting and detailing.





With that out of the way, I added the right side fender after replacing the front and rear mudflaps and adding in the PE insert to the rear mudflap just as I had done with the left hand side. The mount holes for the various equipment were filled with putty and the fender installed. Once the mounts had set up, I added the right side superstructure extension and grab handle. I wired up the front width indicator light and siren with solder just as I had with the left hand side. I added the small clamps that secure the conduit in place with some small left over connecting strips from the Eduard fret. These are thinner and easier to bend to shape and there were plenty to choose from now that I'd completed the one fender side, so it was easy to find three of the same length. To shape them, I took a small piece of solder and secured it with a blob of blue tack, then bent the U-shape using a pair of pointed tweezers and voila! the same diameter bend I needed for the conduit was formed. A small dot of CA gel and they were secured in place.



The right side details were next, with the mirror image storage box added again. The jack had its molded on clamps removed in favor of the Eduard items and the two ejector marks on the outer side filled with putty and sanded down. The track changing tool was almost completely replaced (the kit item is styrene and calls for it to be bent into the correct shape) with the Eduard item, only the connecting cross bar was retained after I'd removed its molded on clamp. The clamps for the wire cutters were installed along with the simple holder for the S hook. The kit doesn't supply a jack block and I've got photos of A's with and without them, but opted to go ahead and add one and use the elevated Eduard tool box stand to accommodate it. The jack block is a single piece of PE with separate parts for the bolt straps and carry handle as well as the two mount rails to hold it in place. To allow access to the block for painting, I left the tool box and stand off for now.





The tool box and stand is almost a mini-kit all by itself, consisting of 17 different pieces in all. To get it all together required some careful consideration and I started with the box itself first, getting it all assembled before adding the stand elements. The two base parts were added directly to the box and then the legs with the retaining strap elements added last.



Rounding out the day's activities, I installed the two front head lights now that the major handling is done prior to painting anyway.



Next up is the initiation of the paint process and assembling the tracks.

To quote a certain Scottish groundskeeper working in Springfield:



Looking as good and fine as ever!!

A professional build log, thanks ! G.

Great work Bill, as always, Bill the next time you do something so complete, could you be more specific in showing how the little details are done and then do a feature for it? Thanks.

Herbert, Guy, thanks for the comments!




Jim,

I'm not sure I follow, do you mean showing more pics of how the PE is assembled and added as sub-steps? I use the normal tools for working with PE (tweezers, flat nosed pliers, Ausfwerks FenderBender bending tool) and glues (CA, Gator Grip), and of course, the ever present moistened wooden toothpick for picking up and handling smaller pieces so didn't think to show those types of things as intermediate photos to adding the details.

Nice looking so far!